Archive for jamaica

(Note: We at SET want to help shed some light on the confusing situation of being imprisoned. We hope that families will find this information useful. We are speaking out of our knowledge of how to system works and do not officially represent the Jamaican Department of Correctional Services. For more reliable information, please contact the Department yourself.)

We got an email today that posed an interesting question. If a Jamaican is in prison in a foreign country (in this case, Canada) and has a deportation order back to Jamaica that will take effect as soon as he is granted parole, who, if anyone will be responsible for his supervision back in Jamaica?

After consulting with DCS, this is the answer we’ve come up with. When a foreign corrections system releases an inmate on parole, they are responsible for his or her supervision. However, they can only supervise parolees in the country of their jurisdiction, so if said inmate is deported they can no longer supervise him or her. When that inmate gets deported back to his or her home country, they have no criminal record about that particular crime and so the Jamaican Department of Correctional Services will have no jurisdiction over him/her. Basically, if a foreign correctional department releases an inmate on parole and that inmate is deported, they will lose the ability to supervise said inmate.

SET usually leaves Tuesdays and Thursdays for office work, but today was special–Mr. Wayne Marshall (not this one, but this one) is gracing us with his presence for the next 4 days, so we made the best of his time here and took him with us to Ft. Augusta.

The meeting today focused on audio production training for the inmates. Last week, Ft. Augusta had held a “Parent’s Day” for the juvenile inmates where the juvies performed self-written skits, sang, and danced for their visiting parents. Kevin was very impressed by the skits, so it is our hope that the Ft. Augusta ladies will learn how to do basic audio production and do some digital storytelling for broadcasting on SET FM and Kevin’s program “Unchained” on Roots FM.

While Wayne installed the necessary software on a computer, Christina went over the reasoning behind the upcoming spelling bee with the inmates. She explained that this year’s spelling bee will focus on words with Greek and Latin roots so that the participants will learn not just how to spell, but also where the words came from and what one can learn about the definition of a word from its spelling. The inmates seemed interested, and the logistics of the spelling bee were decided.

Then it was Wayne’s turn. He introduced the inmates first to Audacity, a free and open-source audio editing program that they could use to record their voices and mix different audio together, and much more. He recorded one SET member’s voice and used it to demonstrate techniques about maintaining levels, adding background music and sound effects, and dubbing vocals over an instrumental track. The inmates were visibly excited about this program and admired its power and simplicity.

Wayne then moved on to Fruity Loops, a professional riddim-making software. The inmates were even more excited about this program, especially when Wayne gave a small demonstration of how to build Techno, Calypso, Reggae, and Hip Hop beats. We are planning to go back next week for a follow-up, but there should be plenty of new software and excitement to tie the Ft. Augusta ladies over for the next few days. Hopefully, you’ll be hearing the fruits of their labor soon on this blog, so stay tuned!

Hello everyone! It has been a very exciting summer for us here at SET already, and things will only be heating up more in the next few weeks!

June saw us working feverishly on a brand new recording studio and radio station at the Tower St. facility to supplement the computer lab that was already there. Construction on the studios finished just in time to coincide with the end of the Restorative Justice Conference we hosted alongside the Department of Correctional Services, with help from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. As a result, we were able to have a grand opening ceremony that showcased some of the real work being done with restorative justice in Jamaica. Check out pictures from the event here!

Speaking of the Restorative Justice Conference, it was there that we talked to several correctional authorities from other islands in the Caribbean, and there’s definitely interest in spreading the program across the Caribbean. Kevin will be visiting the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands later in the month to smooth out some details and see if it can really happen in the short term. More news after the jump!

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If you have questions about the Jamaican prison system, please email us! We will post all answers that are relevant to the public under our FAQ section to start compiling a database about how the Jamaican prison system operates.